After a lot of work the new patch is finally up and running. This patch changes the way that the clients connect to the host. Before this patch, clients connected to a Steam lobby, and used that lobby to exchange data. If the player’s connection to the lobby (the Steam server) was severed, they got disconnected from the game. If this player was the host, everyone got disconnected. The new system only uses Steam’s servers to announce the game, everything else happens peer to peer. This should solve most connection issues. This patch has taken a lot longer to make than we anticipated, and we are sorry that you had to wait longer than expected.

But why haven’t we finished making the Scapa flow mission yet? What’s taking so long?Instead of just making a single mission, we have decided to build a general purpose mission editor. This mission editor will be made available to players, and missions will be shareable via Steam workshop. To that end, we are making a global world map (2D and height map), so that we can make missions everywhere in the world. This is what’s taking so long.

We are aware that it's been a while since the last patch, and that you are eager to see new content in the game. We understand this, and we try to make decisions that will enhance the game's development in the long run even if it seems tedious at times. To facilitate more frequent patches, we will be releasing some of the other items on our roadmap before the Scapa flow level (and level editor) is completed.

This week we have finished work on the new radio system. The new system has two modes: Simplified and advanced. The mode is set in the lobby settings before starting the game. In simplified mode, players type in messages using the keyboard, but unlike before, the message can be typed out in full, without having to pause between each letter while it is being sent. In advanced mode, the morse key functions like it does in real life. Players will have to learn morse code in order to use this system. The new system uses fixed receive channels for each U-boat. Channel 1 is used to broadcast to all U-boats.

Other changes:

• The diesel engine now stops working at 8 meters.• Increased underwater friction when running diesel engines.• Enemy ships are now more prone to ramming U-boats.• Periscopes can now be damaged by collisions.

This week we have worked on the radio, and fixed some bugs. The new patch adds rebindable hotkeys for sending morse, and in game notepads for plain and cipher text. The patch also adds four rebindable iambic hotkeys. These will allow the player to send perfectly spaced dots and dashes. This patch also addresses some AI bugs that were present in the last patch.

Patch notes:

Added rebindable morse send key.Added plain and cipher text input fields in morse key and Enigma use states.Added iambic morse buttons with custom keybindings (thanks Folko).Added ability to raise and lower direction finder antenna.Added toggle for morse alphabet in send view.Fixed escort not pursuing bug (thanks gurudennis).All sunk ships now count towards objective completion, even if the responsible u-boat gets destroyed while the ships are sinking.It is now possible to use the chat while looking at the map.Fixed UI interaction bugs.Reduced maximum compressor depth.Reduced compressed air cost for torpedo firing .Reduced compressed air cost for starting the diesel engines.U-boats can no longer receive radio messages below send depth.

This week we are releasing patch 0.23. This patch includes in-game voice chat, and a number of bug fixes. Settings for the microphone and voice volume can be found in the options menu under Audio options. The push to talk key button can be bound in the key bindings menu. In the game lobby, the host can choose if the game should be played with or without realistic voice attenuation.

With realistic voice attenuation enabled, voices are hindered by walls. Without it you can hear players all over the boat. In both cases, the direction of the voice is calculated. In realistic voice mode you can also use the voice tube on the bridge.

Patch notes:Added voice chat.Added realistic voice attenuation.Added bridge/control room voice tube.It is now possible to clear keybindings by using backspace in the keybind menu.Convoys now change direction after going back to idle on normal difficulty.Convoys now periodically change direction on hard difficulty.The starboard EOT now has the command to increase RPM on both engines, while the port EOT decreases RPM on both engines.Added description and uptime to lobby list.Fixed flying sub bug.The top hatch now blocks voice communication.

This week we have been working on small improvements for the game. The next patch will include multiple stopwatches, customizable colors for the map and rebindable mouse buttons. We are also working on a simplified mission editor. This will work as a stop gap between the skirmish mode and the real mission editor, which will have more features.